Another major company that continues to invest in U.S. locations is BOC Group, the U.K.-based firm that is the world's largest supplier of helium. BOC announced May 4 that it will open a new helium distribution center in Montgomery, Ill.
   BOC will ship gaseous and liquid helium from this plant to customers throughout the central Midwest. The new plant will provide BOC with improved access to the major highways in the Chicago area, the firm states.
   Pete Garra, director of real estate for BOC in Murray Hill, N.J., tells Site Selection that "much of BOC's expansion has been in the traditional industrial areas in the Rust Belt, as well as following the growth in the Southeast, South Central, Southwest and Northwest. Our expansion typically follows our existing customers or an identified new customer base. On the global scale, much focus is placed on the Asia-Pacific, and we continue to have a strong customer base in Latin America and Canada."
   In the plastics sector, the largest single capital investment announced in the U.S. this year is Packerware Corp.'s $118-million expansion of its facility in Lawrence, Kan. The project will create 154 new jobs over the next five years.
   A subsidiary of Berry Plastics Corp., Packerware will modernize its facility in the Kansas City area and launch several new product lines. Lawrence reportedly beat out two regions on the East Coast to land this project. Berry officials told the Lawrence Journal-World that the area's work force was the No. 1 reason why Lawrence was selected for the huge expansion.
   The Packerware announcement follows a string of Berry Plastics projects in the Midwest. Since 2003, Berry has embarked on a $4-million facility investment in Lawrence and two projects totaling $70 million in Evansville, Ind.
   Another significant plastics plant investment was announced May 24 by U.K.-based Arista Tubes. The maker of extruded plastic tubes said it would build a $24-million factory in Danville, Va. Arista said it will move into a former Dan River Inc. building and begin operations this summer. The project is expected to create 145 new jobs.
   The firm is owned by India-based Essel Propack, which already operates a similar plastic tubing plant in Danville.